The present invention relates to liquid and powdered dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions and their use in food and beverage products. In particular, the present invention relates to process for making these liquid and powdered dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions.
The present invention relates to dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions for use in food and beverage products. In particular, the present invention relates to dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions, in both powdered and liquid form, capable of delivering an improved flavor impact per given unit dosage over the creamer compositions currently employed in the art. The creamer compositions of the present invention are additionally capable of delivering a creamier, richer, improved mouthfeel and thickness over conventional creamer compositions for the same volume of formula.
Another benefit of the present powdered and liquid, dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions are their ability to withstand exposure to conventional treatments for food and beverage products that reduce biological activity and/or promote microbial stability.
Dairy and non-dairy creamers are an increasingly popular additive to or ingredient of many of today""s food and beverage products. See for example the synthetic and imitation dairy products disclosed in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, W. J. Harper, Willey Interscience, 3rd edition, Vol. 22, section entitled xe2x80x9cSynthetic and Imitation Dairy Products,xe2x80x9d pp. 465-498, (1978), which is incorporated by reference herein. However, food and beverage products employing conventional creamer compositions are frequently dispreferred because of their cost, taste, and/or texture.
These conventional creamer compositions, in an effort to reduce cost and increase product shelf-life, utilize a high proportion of inactive ingredients that make little or no positive contribution to the desired creamy flavor impact. Moreover, these inactive ingredients, typically bulking agents, suffer from the further deficiency of not being able to withstand the heat and pressure conditions that are part of the food and beverage sterilization and stabilization techniques commonly employed.
As a result of the increased amount of inactive ingredients used in conventional creamer formulations larger amounts of those creamer compositions must be utilized to deliver a given flavor or texture impact, as compared to the creamer compositions of the present invention. The use of large amounts of inactive ingredients also has the deficiency of making impractical the packaging of these conventional creamer compositions in convenient, single-serve portions.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide powdered and liquid creamer compositions that address one or more of the above mentioned deficiencies of creamer compositions currently known in the art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide powdered and liquid creamer compositions that comprise a microparticulated ingredient component and a secondary ingredient component and exhibit a higher beneficial flavor impact at lower dosage levels of solids.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide cost effective powdered and liquid creamer compositions with a smooth, emulsion-like organoleptic character that exhibit a higher beneficial flavor impact at a lower dosage levels of solids.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide heat-stable creamer compositions that exhibit a smooth, emulsion-like organoleptic character, especially when used in sterilized food and beverage products.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide concentrated powdered and liquid creamer compositions that deliver a full, smooth, emulsion-like organoleptic character, especially when packaged in single-serve dosing portions.
The present invention relates to powdered and liquid, dairy and non-dairy creamer compositions. These creamer compositions can be prepared in both concentrated and ready-to-use forms. The powdered creamer compositions are well suited for use in instant and/or dry food and beverage compositions that require the addition of water or other suitable fluids prior to use. The present powdered and liquid creamer compositions are equally well suited for the preparation of ready-to-use formulations that can be added directly to food and beverage products.
The creamer compositions of the present invention typically comprise a microparticulated ingredient component and a secondary ingredient component. The microparticulated ingredient component comprises from about 0.1% to about 80% of a fat/oil component and from about 0.1% to about 70% of a microparticulated protein component, when those components are calculated on a weight percentage of the microparticulated ingredient component. In hydrated state microparticulated ingredient component particles have a mean diameter particle size distribution ranging from about 0.1 microns to about 10.0 microns, preferably in the range of from about 0.1 microns to about 8 microns, more preferably in the range of from about 0.1 microns to about 5 microns. Preferably, less than about 5 percent of the total number of particles exceeds the upper end of the mean diameter particle size distribution range (e.g., about 10 microns, preferably about 8 microns, more preferably about 5 microns).
Optionally, the microparticulated ingredient component may additionally comprise from about 0.1% to about 70% of a carbohydrate component. The microparticulated carbohydrate particles may be used to augment, supplement, and/or replace the ingredients of the fat/oil component and/or the protein component of the microparticulated ingredient component.
The secondary ingredient component of the creamer compositions of the present invention comprise from about 0.05% to about 50% of an emulsifier and from about 50% to about 99.5% of a bulking agent, when those components are calculated on a weight percentage of the secondary ingredient component.
For the powdered creamer compositions of the present invention the weight ratio of the microparticulated ingredient component to the secondary ingredient component is in the range of from about 1:99 to about 5:1, preferably in the range of from about 1:50 to about 5:1, more preferably in the range of from about 1:10 to about 5:1, even more preferably in the range of from about 1:5 to about 5:1. For the liquid creamer compositions of the present invention the weight ratio of the microparticulated ingredient component to the secondary ingredient component is in the range of from about 1:99 to about 5:1, preferably in the range of from about 1:50 to about 5:1, more preferably in the range of from about 1:5 to about 5:1, even more preferably in the range of from about 1:1 to about 5:1.
Optionally, the creamer compositions of the present invention may comprise an additional ingredient component, wherein the additional ingredient component comprises ingredients selected from the group consisting of flavorants, milk solids, soluble beverage components, buffers and buffering systems, natural and artificial sweeteners, thickeners, foaming agents and foaming systems, processing aids, and mixtures thereof. If the additional ingredient component is utilized in the present liquid creamer compositions the weight ratio of the secondary ingredient component to the additional ingredient component is in the range of from about 100:1 to about 1:24, preferably in the range of from about 30:1 to about 1:20, more preferably in the range of from about 10:1 to about 1:15, most preferably in the range of from about 2:1 to about 1:10.